Conversations With The Dead
by elricsss
Summary: "I promise I'll come, every month, with Mama, and maybe Papa, just to talk to you guys. It must get awfully lonely, mustn't it?" In which Nashi visits the long gone with her family.


**A/N: Well hello there. I'm kind of nervous/excited since this is my first fanfic, so CC is very much appreciated. Oh god, I really, really didn't want to fuck this up. I like the whole "Nalu family fluff" ordeal and just asdfjkl; NASHI OMG. SO MANY POSSIBILITES DUDE. SO. MANY. Oh, if any of you out there are Teen Wolf fans, you'll understand what "regression to the mean" means, and holy shIT THAT IS NO EXCUSE ALLISON ARGENT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN THAT IMMEDIATELY YOU TRY THAT SHIT AND ILL FUCKING CUT YOU. *ahem* Welp, here goes nothing.**

** I've always really hated how Hiro Mashima shitted on practically every female character and turned them all into comic relief, while the men get all the development(not that that's a step up) and so I write Lucy as a more mature, smarter mage who is very wise, since I have a personal belief that the most broken people are the wisest. When I thought up this idea, I actually started crying over how much Nashi loves her mom. That was long before I got a FF, so whatever sob potential this fic had is gone oops.**

**DISCLAIMER: I am a bum on the run who owns nothing but a crappy harmonica**

"I hate being sick!" Nashi Dragneel cried out in frustration. It was a Tuesday, she loved Tuesdays! Every Tuesday her teacher, Rose-sensei would teach the class about mages. All the kids would look at Nashi in adoration; she _was _the child of Lucy Heartifilia and Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's ultimate power couple. The boys would look in fear at the little girl who had inherited her father's Dragon Slayer powers, and was training under the _Titania_, and all the girls in envy, for she had such a beautiful mother. But no, here she sat, in her kitchen, at home, avoiding her mother's attempts to feed her soup (Seriously. Feeding. What was she, two?)

"Mama it's Tuesday. Why won't you let me go to school! I'm fine, I promise!" She pouted in frustration, arms crossed. Her matted pink hair hung limply around her shoulders, as if in an act of defiance.

"Nashi, you know that's not possible. Besides, you have me, I'll keep you company. We can stop by the guild later, if you want. Papa's coming home today." Two words. All it took was two words,_ guild_ and _Papa_, and the little girl's brown eyes forgot any anger and lit up like a Christmas tree. The guild was her second, no wait scratch that, Fairy Tail _was_ her home. She had found her place, four years old amidst the colorful chaos. Just like her mom, her dad, and the rest of her family. She soon gave up on her crusade against cream of mushroom and happily slurped up the soup, and considering her father, and his reputation with food, she drank a lot of it. The silence in the air was soon filled with ecstatic chatter, as Nashi droned on about her parents' _nakama_. The Dragneel residence was soon filled with Nashi's very opinionated views on her fellow guildmates. Apparently Gray-san was gross because he never wore clothes (Nashi had wrinkled her nose at that part) and he took of his shirt in front of everyone. And he had weird indents on his stomach. (Not that she was looking) At this, Lucy laughed, and informed little Nashi with a wink that one day she might find that sort of thing attractive.

She was horrified.

The conversation strayed to a plethora of different topics. From Lucy's guildmates ("Gajeel-san is so _weird_ looking! Who in their right minds would hammer nails into their face?" "Juvia-san and Lisanna-san are so nice to me! And Mira-san has the best cooking! Aside from you of course. Oops, don't tell Juvia-san, please!") To her comrades ("Ugh, Haru is so annoying Mama! Anytime I see him, he always acts like he's better than me, just cuz he's older. But only by a year and a half! 'Ice is better than fire!' 'My dad is a better mage than your dad!' I can't stand him!") To her closest friends, daughters of Lisanna and Erza ("Izumi always gets into fights with boys at break time, and Haruhi and I have to break them up before Rose-sensei or any other teacher comes. Most boys are afraid of her though, they wouldn't dare cross her. But all the boys aren't afraid of Haruhi though, I heard some of them talking about her. Do you know they called her pretty? Lightning scar, and everything. Gross! They're boys. That kind of stuff is for parents! Not for kids!") The little girl had a mind like a hummingbird, dashing from one thing to another, always hyper. But what Nashi had that the hummingbird didn't though, was that if she spotted one mistake, or something that didn't add up, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Mama, why does Papa always go on jobs without you?" The little girl had a look of curiosity on her face, a sort of innocence that made Lucy's heart melt.

"Na-Papa and I were teammates, remember I told you the story of how I got into Fairy Tail?" Nashi nodded. "Well, we fell in love, we got married, and then I found out I was pregnant. With a baby in the picture, we had extra expenses, and I had to stay home to take care of you, so Papa found the higher-paying, longer, more strenuous jobs for his team to do. But I doubt he cares much. Your papa is a very trigger-happy man." She offered a small smile at her daughter

Nashi frowned, "But Asuka-chan's parents both work and they still can take care of her just fine. I know how much you miss Papa sometimes, I miss him too. Why don't you go?"

Lucy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Nashi may have gotten her father's hair and powers, but she sure got Lucy's smarts, thank Mavis for that. When she opened her eyes, she stared at her daughter in front of her. There was so much life in her eyes. So much hope and love and laughter and _fight_. The eyes of a child who knew no loss, no pain, but would soon. She loved her daughter with all her heart and more. She guessed she had no choice.

"When…when you were born, you were sick," _Very sick_. The memories of those horrible nights, when she shut out the world, overcome with grief, flooded back. Those nights, where she would drown in her tears until she dozed off. Lucy mentally shook herself. "The thing is, you were born part Dragon Slayer, and that's fine, but you were born from a _Fire_ Dragon Slayer. Igneel taught Natsu the ways of the Dragon, even granted him scales. That magic….its ancient magic. We know, when we-when we had you, that your body could have any reaction to that type of magic. And you did. A bad one.

"For weeks you were sick, the fever was insane. Wendy almost killed herself trying to keep you-trying to keep you alive. It took forever, but you finally adjusted."

"And you…. you stayed behind in case I get an attack?" The little girl was quiet, almost deathly quiet. Hesitantly, Lucy nodded. They were both silent for what seemed like forever, and as if to break the thick soup of tension, Nashi walked over to her mother, and pulled her into a tight hug.

"I love you so much, Mama!"

"Luuuuuuuucccyyyyyyyyyy," Natsu whined, dragging each letter "When will the food be readyyyyyyyyyyy?"

"Stop acting like such a child! Mavis, I expect this kind of behavior from Nashi," Lucy chided. She loved her husband to death, but he could be _such_ a child sometimes. She went back to stirring the soup "Dinner will be ready in half an hour, can you two keep your stomachs quiet until then?"

"But Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa, I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyy; my stomach can't wait until then. I'm a Dragon Slayer, remember?" Nashi chimed in. It was Lucy's turn to sweat drop. _Try cooking for one._

"Well, that's too bad, you'll have to learn to be patient, sweetie. It's a virtue," Lucy said.

"What does patient mean, Mama?" Nashi replied.

Lucy fought the urge to bash her head against a wall "I give up."

"Hey come on Luce, you know I was only kidding. I've matured at least a little bit," Natsu walked up behind Lucy to put his arms around her waist and kissed her temple.

"Besides, I'm just anxious to eat your delicious cooking."

"Oh no no_ no_ mister, you are not going to sweet talk your way into my good graces, you always complain about my cooking."

He leaned down and whispered into her hair, careful not to be too loud, lest Nashi could hear "Why? It worked when I got into your pants."

And that prompted one of her famous Lucy Kicks. Needless to say Natsu made no more inappropriate comments in fear of being castrated by his wife.

"Mama," Nashi said "Today at school we learned about family trees! You know, they aren't actual trees?! Rose-sensei told us it was our family an-anc- Oh what's that word again?"

"Ancestry, Nashi. That sounds very interesting." Lucy quietly sipped her soup.

"Yea, inter-Ow!" Natsu yelped into his bread. Natsu may have been the Salamander of Fairy Tail, but Lucy could whip his butt without even trying. Nashi, who would normally find this sort of situation amusing, had a troubled look on her face.

"Mama, why is your last name Heartifilia and Papa's Dragneel? Rose-sensei said the girls have to change their name. I asked her why, and she said just because, but I think that's silly. Still, all the girls had the same last name as the boys."

"Ah, well I guess I wanted to keep my last name. As a sort of memory of my parents. I am the last living Heartifilia, after all." She gave her daughter a smile.

Nashi's eyes widened. She was quiet once more, usually Lucy and Natsu would take this as some sort of blessing, as Nashi was a ceaseless chatterbox, but she looked like she was thinking hard, almost as if she was gathering information "Do you….. Do you visit them, sometimes?"

"I-yes, yes I do. Once every month. I actually was going to go on Sunday. It was….it was that time. Would you…..like to come with me?" Lucy asked, tentatively. The little girl's eyes lit up like the magic in which she carried.

"Oh yes, please that'd be wonderful! Can I, oh can I?!" She said,

"Of course, sweetie. We can all go." She replied.

"Yea and-OW!"

The morning sun peeked through the blinds as if signaling that it was time to get up. Lucy only grumbled and rolled over to her husband, who was sound asleep. It fit; Natsu could sleep through an earthquake. She pulled her blankets over her head, it that hazy half-asleep, half-awake state of bliss, the warmth radiating off of Natsu gave her a pleasant feeling as she snuggled closer, shutting out the sun. But eventually, the sun wasn't what had woken her, or Natsu's snoring, it was Nashi.

She came running into the room, as fast as her stubby legs could carry her "Mamaaaaaaaaaaaa, Papaaaaaaaaa wake _up_ we have to go! We're visiting Grand-Mama and Grand-Papa today!" Lucy groaned. So much for sleep

It wasn't hard, but it wasn't easy either. It was no secret she adored her mother, but when her father died, it was like a slap in the face, coming back home to Magnolia after seven years, all that pain and heartbreak she had caused her guildmates, it was salt rubbed on the wound that she had no immediate family left. Her father was never the loving kind; he preferred his business and his fortune over spending time with her. He provided the best dresses and the best tuition and the best house any girl could ask for. Except, never what she asked for. Lucy had hated her father growing up, but what surprised her, was in the last years that he lived, he aimed for redemption. It was odd; she didn't think he even had a heart. So when she found out, she was devastated. It was then that she realized that she loved him, with all her heart. Oh the irony of it all. It took time. Lost time. The little cut in the side of her heart was stitched up nice and neat. Sometimes, a stitch would reopen, and it would take a lot of crying to stitch it back up. Eventually though, it would fade to a scar. From time to time, that scar would ache, a dull throb, almost unrecognizable. But it healed. Regression to the mean. Lucy never cried after that.

Nashi refused to leave her side throughout the whole ordeal, so stood, with Lucy in front of the graves of Jude and Layla Heartifilia, the tombstones still well kept after all these years. Lucy set the flowers, shaking the breeze, on each grave. One for her mother, one for her father. It wasn't an extravagant gesture, but it held something. Slowly she turned around and took hesitant steps back to where Natsu was standing. He had learned to give his wife her space during things like these. He tensed, and as if asking what was wrong, Lucy turned around to see Nashi was still standing in front of her parent's graves.

"Nashi… Come on, we have to go, its getting late." Lucy called out, as if she was walking on eggshells. The sun had turned into the color of marigolds, red and pink and burnt orange scattered through the painted sky. The wind whipped through the air; soon night would come, and if they didn't hurry fast enough, they would miss their train back to Magnolia.

"Just a minute, Mama. I wanna say something." She looked dead serious, as if she had been planning this since forever.

Nashi opened her mouth to speak "I don't think you know me. Well if you did, that'd be weird since I was born after you died, but I'll introduce myself anyway." she held out her hand, as if to shake with an imaginary person. But there were no imaginary people. Just the tombstones. Lucy's eyes widened as Natsu grabbed her wrist, a silent command for her to stay put and listen to what Nashi had to say.

"My name is Nashi Dragneel, I'm the daughter of Natsu and Lucy Dragneel, though, Mama uses her maiden name, in honor of you guys. Oh shoot, did she tell you that already? Does Mama ever come by and talk? No, wait, that's a stupid question, people would look at you funny. They'd say you were weird. But I don't think it's weird. I think it's nice; like talking to people in old folk's homes, 'cept they haven't bit the dust yet. Wait, was that too rude? I don't want to disrespect you, even if you are dead. The dead deserve respect, don't they? Well anyways, as I was saying, I don't think it's weird to talk to the dead. You guys sure must get lonely sometimes, not to mention bored. But don't worry, I'll be here every month and I'll talk to you! Since this is my first time meeting you, I thought I would assure you on some things that you probably stress over wherever you two are." She turned to Layla's tombstone " I've heard a lot about you. Mama talks about you all the time. She told me about how your voice, was like honey, and no matter how hard she tried, she could never sing like you. I think her voice is perfect though. Mama never had a great childhood; she said you were her only best friend in that lonely mansion. You taught Mama everything she knows; did you hear? Mama is the best Celestial mage in Fiore! She had an audience with the _Celestial King_, and she's been able to summon all her spirits! And, she collected all 12 Zodiac Keys! Her spirits adore her, she doesn't like to call them spirits, but rather, her friends, and she told me that spirits were no different than humans and that everyone deserved to be treated equally. Mama never forgets to write to you, every night. She was devastated when you died. I guess that's how I'd be if, Mavis forbid, she died. I know it's going to happen eventually, but I don't want that to ever happen.

"Mama talks about you the same way I talk about her. I guess that's only fair, since you are her Mama. What was it like, being my Mama's mama? I'd imagine it wasn't too bad. My Mama is the best mama ever! Aish there's so much to talk about my mama I don't even know where to begin. She's my biggest inspiration, to be the best mage I can ever be! My biggest role model is my Mama, one day, when she and my Papa are old; I hope to repay all the good she's given me. You see, when I was born, I was really sick. The healers said I couldn't make it, that I was too sick and my body couldn't take the Dragon Slayer magic, the heat, my Mama fought for me, she fought long and hard. She's never been the strongest mage around, but she fought stronger than Gildarts, and he's the strongest mage in Fairy Tail! She's always putting others before herself, and while I like that, I want her to be safe, but she just doesn't listen to me. Hmph," Then, the little girl turned to her grandfather's grave.

"Mama said plenty about you too. At first I was sad that my Mama was sad, and then I was angry at you for making her sad. She didn't let me though; she said that good people are not always good. Mama said that sometimes bad people can turn into good when they realize what they've done and are sorry about it and want redemption. The bad things that they did don't go away, but the fact that they're good now when they could have continued being bad is the important part. Its what road they 'ultimately take' that matters. So, I guess I forgive you. She really did love you, she cried a lot when you died too. And I guess…. I guess that I love you too! Oh I feel so happy that I have two new friends, even though you're dead, but I can bet you, somewhere up in heaven, wherever you two are you can hear me, because the dead hear everything. You can read Mama's letters too, I know you can. Can I call you Obachan and Ojichan? Everyone called Master Makarov Ojichan. It's okay, right? Cool!

"Oh I know you guys worry about Mama, but I promise you, she's doing good! After she ran away she joined Fairy Tail, where she met my Papa. In fact, Papa was the one who got her in! She learned so many new things there, and she found her family. No offense. I don't think family necessarily has to be by blood, do you? I mean if you love someone enough, and you are close enough to them, they become your family. And that's what Fairy Tail's all about! All these misfits, all who carry some burden with them, find home, a family, in Fairy Tail. We're all _nakama_, one big, crazy family!

"Oh! You don't have to worry about Papa, Ojichan; he loves Mama with all his heart! He always protects her when she's hurt, and she always protects him. Sometimes, she says that she's the mother of two children. We usually laugh at that and Papa just pouts." She cupped her hand over her mouth as if to whisper "Papa's kind of slow, don't tell him that. But he's just the best fighter! I got my magic from him. He goes away one missions a lot, leaving me and Mama alone, but it isn't his fault! Its just hard on our family and money gets tight sometimes. And with my sickness, she cant come with him. It's all very sad, but we have each other, and Papa _always_ comes back.

Mavis look at the sky! Shoot, if we don't go now, we'll miss the train back! Ummm…. Just a few quick things before I have to go. Thank you both, for raising my Mama. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. I love her very much, and I love you very much. She does too. And I know that you both are just as proud of her as I am." She walked over and hugged each tombstone. "Well I have to go now. I promise I'll visit! Every month! Oh I have so much more to talk to you about! My friends, Izumi and Haruhi, and that awful Fullbuster boy, Haru! I'm sorry we couldn't talk as much today. It was nice meeting you!" She waved and turned around only to see her mother on her knees, tears streaming from her underneath her bangs.

"Mama! Mama what happened?" Nashi stared at her with a wide-eyed look of concern.

"Nothing happened. Come here." She pulled Natsu and Nashi into a tight hug. When Lucy pulled away, and dried her tears, it was then that Natsu could see just how damn observant his four year old actually was. She was beginning to be such-

"Shit, we're going to miss the train!"

"_NATSU!"_

**I really didn't know how to end it, so instead of going into another shitty inner monologue about how Nashi was growing and shit, I decided to end it in the sort of satirical way that I was mocking my own writing...? My sense of humor is fucked up. **

**Closing thoughts: I really just adore Lucy's character and we all should give her more love uwu. Also, there's too much romance and not enough Mom appreciation on this website. I love my mom more than anything in the world, so if you're reading this, tell her you love her and give her a hug, will ya?**

**ok im done annoying you now PLZ REVIEW I NEED FEEDBACK ON HOW SHITTY THIS ACTUALLY IS or don't its your choice.**


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